Mumbai, Jan 11: R Prasanna’s crucial 104-run knock, that involved a 152-run partnership with Yo Mahesh (67), helped Tamil Nadu post a respectable first-innings total of 359 against Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji Trophy at the Wankhede. Later, the visitors picked quick wickets to leave Mumbai reeling on 121 for six at stumps.

At the end of Day 2, Prasanna spoke to the media about his innings and the match. Excerpts:

On Tamil Nadu’s fight-back

We are all happy. […] They [Mumbai] have four more wickets to go, the tail, they have a long batting order. We will try to take the wickets as early as possible.

On whether he and Yo Mahesh had a plan when they resumed their innings on Day 2

Yo Mahesh and I thought of batting out the initial one hour so that the batters to follow would find it easier. We forgot about the runs and were just batting [for time]. We [took it] ball by ball and it worked out.

On scoring a century in the Ranji Trophy after five years

I am really happy [to have scored] this century after five years. First of all I’ve got to thank the team management and the captain for bringing me back into the team. Last year I wasn’t in the team. They have made me comfortable in the dressing-room, they [calmed me so I could] perform at the right time so I was really comfortable out there. That’s the main reason I played with a [good] mindset. Everybody was backing me so it was really good.

On whether this was his best knock yet

Absolutely. Without a doubt.

On whether he remembered his last century

Yes, it was against UP.

On whether he was surprised at the way Mumbai crumbled today

Yes, absolutely. We were hoping for a long day and it was backed up by fantastic bowling by our captain [who claimed the first three wickets in quick succession]. He was giving it his best and it worked out well in the end.

On whether the pitch had eased out late on Day 1

The pitch had eased out a bit. The morning session was a bit tough for the batters [but] after lunch there was a bit for them.

On whether they were surprised at Mumbai putting them in to bat

To be honest, we weren’t [surprised]; we were ready to bat first on this wicket. They would have thought differently, I guess. They would have backed their seamers to get us [out] quickly.

On the score they would like to bowl Mumbai out for

Anything below 200 would be great for us. We are hoping for that.

On batting at No. 6 and his role in his side

I was batting at No. 3 [earlier]. I go up and down the order so it doesn’t matter much. My role is to bat along with the tail and give them confidence and get through the day.

On his debut

I made my debut for Tripura and after that I came to Tamil Nadu.